[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 13 (Friday, January 22, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6813-6815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01644]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 6813]]


                Executive Order 13979 of January 18, 2021

                
Ensuring Democratic Accountability in Agency 
                Rulemaking

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Purpose. American democracy operates on the 
                principle of the consent of the governed. Regular 
                elections for the Congress and the President and Vice 
                President of the United States are designed to ensure 
                that the officials responsible for making and executing 
                the law are held accountable to the American people. 
                The President chooses Federal agency heads who exercise 
                executive authority and implement his regulatory 
                agenda. The American people, in electing the President, 
                thereby have a role in choosing the individuals who 
                govern them.

                However, some agencies have chosen to blur these lines 
                of democratic accountability by allowing career 
                officials to authorize, approve, and serve as the final 
                word on regulations. This practice transfers the power 
                to set rules governing Americans' daily lives from the 
                President, acting through his executive subordinates, 
                to officials insulated from the accountability that 
                national elections bring. This practice undermines the 
                power of the American people to choose who governs them 
                and I am directing steps to end it.

                Sec. 2. Rulemaking by Senior Appointees. (a) To the 
                extent permitted by law, the head of each agency shall:

(i) require that agency rules promulgated under section 553 of title 5, 
United States Code (section 553), must be signed by a senior appointee; and

(ii) require that only senior appointees may initiate the rulemaking 
process for agency rules promulgated under section 553 or may approve the 
agency's regulatory agenda.

                    (b) Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply 
                if the agency head:

(i) determines that compliance with this section would impede public safety 
or security; and

(ii) submits to the Administrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (Administrator) within the Office of Management and 
Budget a notification disclosing the reasons for the exemption and 
publishes such notification, consistent with public safety, security, and 
privacy interests, in the Federal Register.

                    (c) An agency head may not delegate authority to 
                make the determination allowed by subsection (b) of 
                this section.
                    (d) The head of each agency shall ensure that the 
                issuance of future agency rules promulgated under 
                section 553 adheres to the requirements of this 
                section.

                Sec. 3. Review of Existing Delegations of Rulemaking 
                Authority. Within 180 days of the date of this order, 
                the head of each agency shall, to the extent permitted 
                by law:

                    (a) review delegations of authority regarding 
                rulemaking and make any revisions necessary to ensure 
                that such delegations are consistent with section 2 of 
                this order; and
                    (b) amend agency regulations governing agency 
                management and procedure to incorporate the 
                requirements of section 2 of this order.

[[Page 6814]]

                Sec. 4. Review of Existing Rules. (a) Within 90 days of 
                the date of this order, the head of each agency shall 
                review all significant rules the agency has issued over 
                the last 12 years, and any other rules identified by 
                the Administrator, to determine whether the rule was 
                issued by a senior appointee. For good cause shown, the 
                Administrator may authorize an extension of the period 
                within which an agency shall conduct such review.

                    (b) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the 
                head of each agency shall provide a report to the 
                President, through the Administrator, summarizing the 
                findings of the review. For good cause shown, the 
                Administrator may authorize an extension of the 
                deadline to provide such report.

                Sec. 5. Definitions. For the purposes of this order, 
                the term:

                    (a) ``agency'' has the meaning given that term in 
                section 3(b) of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 
                1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), as amended, or 
                any successor order; except that for purposes of this 
                order:

(i) the term shall include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and

(ii) the term shall not include the Federal Bureau of Prisons of the 
Department of Justice;

                    (b) ``senior appointee'' means an individual 
                appointed by the President, or performing the functions 
                and duties of an office that requires appointment by 
                the President, or a non-career member of the Senior 
                Executive Service (or equivalent agency system);
                    (c) ``significant rule'' means any rule that is 
                also a ``significant regulatory action'' as defined in 
                section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as amended, or 
                any successor order; and
                    (d) ``rule'' has the meaning given that term in 
                section 551(4) of title 5, United States Code, except 
                that such term does not include any rule of agency 
                organization, procedure, or practice that does not 
                substantially affect the rights or obligations of non-
                agency parties.

                Sec. 6. Implementation. The Administrator shall provide 
                guidance on the implementation of this order and shall 
                monitor agency compliance with the order.

                Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.

[[Page 6815]]

                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 18, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-01644
Filed 1-21-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P